TOWNSVILLE City Council is considering buying an office tower in the CBD to house bureaucrats working in the outer suburbs.

The Bulletin understands the council has held a confidential meeting to discuss the purchase of an office tower to accommodate staff from suburban locations including the Thuringowa centre.

Moving more council staff into the city would align with the organisation’s push to have 30,000 people living and working in the CBD by 2030 but it could upset many residents who live in the former Thuringowa council boundaries.

Council staff are preparing a facilities management plan and it is due to be presented to councillors before the end of the financial year.

Mayor Jenny Hill refused to rule out a multimillion-dollar ratepayer-funded purchase of a CBD office block.

“After amalgamation we inherited a number of new buildings and staff are working on a report about what we should do with all our facilities.

“It can take an hour out of people’s day if they have to drive between Thuringowa and the city or even out to Garbutt.

“We need to look at whether we can get any efficiencies by better organising where council staff are located and that is exactly what staff will be doing in this report and all councillors will be using that information to make any decisions.”

The report is expected to focus on the efficiencies to be gained from moving more white-collar council staff into the city as most mid to high-level meetings occur on Walker St.

The Bulletin understands councillors will be asked to support a staff recommendation to purchase an existing office building in the CBD if a suitable price can be agreed upon, although there is no specific timeline for the move.

Townsville Enterprise chief executive David Kippin said the council should move more of its workforce into the CBD to boost city-based businesses.

“I think it’s a good move and we would be encouraging Townsville City Council to go ahead with it,” he said.

“Everybody has to do their bit to improve the CBD and you have seen that with the state government building, Ergon moving in and even JCU committing to a city campus.

“Having more council staff based in the city will make a big difference.”

The report is also expected to include recommendations about the number and locations of council depots.

Cr Hill said some of the current facilities needed to be upgraded or relocated.

“People are in there stripping out and repairing vehicles and they just aren’t up to standard.

“We need to make sure we have adequate facilities for our staff to do the job that they are required to.”

Comments on this story

Bemary of Riverside Ridge Posted at 7:27 PM May 01, 2014

Council give up trying to con residents into having to go into the city! No where to park, public transport is basically non-existent.
Move everyone to the city to bring some life to the city - the cityheart is now in Kirwan. What you need is to bring/attract tourists to the city and stop trying so hard to re-sell the city to the residents.
Council think about the businesses in Kirwan that are going to lose the custom of council workers and visitors or is your ego too focussed on the city that was and never will be again ... especially when you try to implant initiatives from other great cities such as Melbourne. Council you need to find your own new identity for the city rather that rehashing old or borrowed ones.

Did the council just release the futures plan for Townsville??? The underlying goal was to built up on key satellite surburbs and Thuringowa Central was one of these. It is in a perfect accessible location for majority of Townsville ratepayers to access council. The city location is not a good option and closing this accessibility off the public. Traffic in the city because of the sea can only branch out 180 degrees causing twice as much traffic. Thuringowa location can branch out traffic 360 degrees and is central for Townsville. Why use the council employees to prop up the city? The business that have moved in but have the need for residents of Townsville to access them on a daily basis and can move in the city. Current Thuringowa branch can easily have more floors built on top of existing and build into the carpark. Why does council buy the vancant blocks across the road and build a multi story car park. Moving everyone in the into the city just doesn't make sense

Jenny Stirling Posted at 3:46 PM April 30, 2014

Council is first and foremost a service, not a business . So I think the whole Council should be moving to Thuringowa so that more residents can easily access councillors and other departments. It is clear that city is moving that way and so should the Council.